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Why is A-levels Law not encouraged?

Well I've heard from plenty of people around here that it's not recommended to study A-levels Law (especially if you want to study law at uni), as it is considered a "soft option" - why is it considered soft? Some other people also mentioned that it is simply because lecturers would prefer you to come into university as a blank slate so that it's easier to teach you, and this is something I also heard myself from a law lecturer at a university - that students who have taken A-levels Law need to be "untaught" some things. Does that imply that the syllabus content is inaccurate?

Reply 1

Tortious

I'm on my iPod so I can't reply easily, but in brief, I think Law is OK as a fourth - admissions tutors are wary of it because it's a relatively new A Level so they don't really know what it entails, and the quality of the teaching at college can vary. For more detail, see my post history or I can link you in a few days when I get back from my holiday. :smile:

I found doing the A2 very helpful though.

Reply 2

jacketpotato

Original post by joan2468

Well I've heard from plenty of people around here that it's not recommended to study A-levels Law (especially if you want to study law at uni), as it is considered a "soft option" - why is it considered soft?
A lot of people assume that it is a soft/easy option because its a fairly new A-level. Unfortunately this is a fairly widely held prejudice. I didn't do law A-level but people that did tell me it was tougher than other "traditional" A-levels.

The notion that law is "soft" seems to be fading amongst unis but I'm sure it is still held among some graduate recruiters that are a rung attached from the market. I think law is a great choice if you do it with other traditional subjects; but if you tried to bolt-on media studies or design tech or P.E. or whatever as your final A-level then I think it might put you at a disadvantage in some people's eyes.

Some other people also mentioned that it is simply because lecturers would prefer you to come into university as a blank slate so that it's easier to teach you, and this is something I also heard myself from a law lecturer at a university - that students who have taken A-levels Law need to be "untaught" some things. Does that imply that the syllabus content is inaccurate?

I'm sure there are some people that actually believe this. In my view its a completely ridiculous assertion thats impossible to justify. There is an extreme air of arrogance around anyone who seems to think that they need to "unteach" something in order for them to teach. The syllabus content is not inaccurate, of course it is true that the A-level is dumbed-down when compared to university, but this is true of every subject.

Reply 3

joan2468

I see. Well I was considering taking it as a 4th AS subject - my other choice is Psychology. The other 3 subjects I'm taking are English Literature, Biology and Economics.

Reply 4

jacketpotato

Original post by joan2468

I see. Well I was considering taking it as a 4th AS subject - my other choice is Psychology. The other 3 subjects I'm taking are English Literature, Biology and Economics.